My nieces are 12 and 13. Compared to some of their friends they dress conservatively! However, they both wear shorts which in my opinion are far too brief to be worn in public. Seriously, if your arse is hanging out the bottom, they're too short!! My 13 year old niece in particular looks far older than her age. She is very tall (dad is 6ft 8in!) and well developed. I have seen the way grown men look at her. The attention she receives, even when dressed 'appropriately' is already of an openly sexual nature. I don't believe she is aware of the attention she is getting, although she looks very mature she is not particularly mature in her personality. My concern is... she and her sister and their friends are wearing clothing which attracts attention and invites men to peer at their body. But at 12, 13, 14.... they are not yet mature enough to deal with, or to even understand the nature of the attention they are garnering. A recipe for disaster in my opinion! The clothing (tiny shorts, tops with bras on display) suggests a sexual maturity which these girls don't, and shouldn't, yet possess.

I am certainly not suggesting that a woman who dresses provocatively is 'asking for it'. The idea of blaming a woman for sexual assault because of her clothing appalls me. But I do think that we, as mothers, should protect our children form an adult idea which they simply don't understand, or which they may believe they can control but which we know they can't.

I have spoken to my sister about the clothing my nieces wear (ah, yes... the padded bra my 12 year old niece wears under skimpy singlet tops! WTF??). But she fails to see a problem and tells me that this is what they like to wear and what all their friends wear. I have also spoken to my nieces about their clothing choices, but they simply tell me that they like it and it's comfortable.

Coincidentally, yesterday I was discussing the issue of short shorts with a girlfriend who came over for a swim. We both have 8 year old DD's and both were wearing short board shorts with their rashies. When do short shorts become inappropriate? At what age? I think they are fine for any age at the beach or the pool, but I have taken my DD to the supermarket in hers. Neither of our girls is developing and they are both quite small for age, but we had both reached the point of considering whether those board shorts are appropriate away from the beach or the pool. When do you think they are no longer appropriate?

And do they then become ok again at a later age? Because honestly, I have no problem with a woman in her 20's wearing short shorts or skimpy clothing. She is mature enough to know and understand her own sexuality and sexual attention and if she chooses to dress in a skimpy way... well, all good for her! So , do you think skimpy clothes are ok on girls/women who have reached maturity?